xmlunicode

https://github.com/ndw/xmlunicode.git

git clone 'git://github.com/ndw/xmlunicode.git'


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XML Unicode

XML Unicode provides some convenience methods for inserting Unicode characters (in particular for what have traditionally been XML named character entities). Several of these functions are applicable in contexts other than XML, but the focus here is on XML.

You're most likely going to want to bind some or all of them to keys.

unicode-character-insert

Insert a Unicode character by character name. If a prefix is given, the character will be inserted regardless of whether or not it has a displayable glyph; otherwise, a numeric character reference is inserted if the codepoint is not in the unicode-glyph-list.

I bind this to ctl-t u

This function is probably largely obsoleted by new methods in Emacs 24 and beyond for inserting Unicode. But the numeric character reference support still adds some value.

iso8879-character-insert

Insert a Unicode character by ISO 8879 entity name. If a prefix is given, the character will be inserted regardless of whether or not it has a displayable glyph; otherwise, a numeric character reference is inserted if the codepoint is not in the unicode-glyph-list.

I bind this to ctl-t i

unicode-character-menu-insert

Pops up a menu of special characters. Configure unicode-character-menu-alist to change the list.

I bind this to ctl-t c but I hardly ever use it. Instead, I create a proper menu bar pulldown:

(define-key nxml-mode-map [menu-bar unichar]
  (cons "UniChar" unicode-character-menu-map))

unicode-character-shortcut-insert

This function provides access to all the ISO Latin 1 accented characters. It reads two more keystrokes and composes the approprate character that way. Configure unicode-character-shortcut-alist to change the mappings.

I bind this to C-t e

So, for example, I can type C-t e e ' to insert “e acute”. Or C-t e $ y to insert a yen symbol.

unicode-smart-double-quote

This function, which I bind to " in nxml-mode, inserts the appropriate double quote. Called after a space, newline, or “>”, it inserts a left double quote. Called after a double quote, it cycles through the three possible quote styles: left, straight, or right. Called anywhere else, it inserts a right double quote.

Inside a start tag, it always inserts just a vanilla ".

unicode-smart-single-quote

I bind this to ' in nxml-mode and it does just what you think it does.

unicode-smart-hyphen

I bind this to - in nxml-mode. It cycles through dash, mdash, and ndash characters.

unicode-smart-period

I bind this to . in nxml-mode. It replaces three consecutive periods with an ….

unicode-smart-semicolon

I bind this to ; in nxml-mode. It has the following effect: if the characters that precede the semicolon are an ampersand followed by an ISO 8879 entity name, the corresponding character is inserted.

For example, if I type &ntilde and then ;, a Unicode ñ is inserted.

It happens that I still remember a lot of the ISO entity names.

show-unicode-character-list

You can't bind this one to a key, just run it in your *scratch* buffer. It inserts all the Unicode characters. This allows you to see which ones will actually display correctly.